Cycling buffs chip in for hearing-impaired teen

Manigandan T, a 17-year-old who suffers from hearing loss, wakes up at 5am every day.

| TNN | Dec 2, 2018, 06:34 IST

Manigandan says he likes cycling for the freedom it offers him

BENGALURU: Manigandan T, a 17-year-old who suffers from hearing loss, wakes up at 5am every day. The reason: Empty roads ensure a quicker commute to the highways cutting through the city where he pedals for hours on his single-speed bicycle.

His dream, however, is to ride faster and eventually, compete in professional races in the city. Thanks to a group of cycling enthusiasts from the city, it may finally come true.

Bangalore Amateur Racing (BAR), a group of cycling enthusiasts from the city, has managed to find a sponsor - a doctor from Mysuru - who has agreed to donate more than Rs 70,000 for a new bike for Manigandan.

A student at Annaswamy Mudaliar special school, Manigandan learnt riding when he was five. "Being hearing-impaired has not prevented me from doing what I like. I love cycling for the sheer freedom it offers me," said Manigandan, who regularly cycles to Nandi Hills, one of his favourite haunts.

BAR founder Venkateshwara Rao Navanasi said, "I first met Manigandan at a cycling event held in the city. He walked up to me and began typing a message on his phone that read, 'I can't hear or speak, but I wanted to be here.' I later came to know that Manigandan cycles on the Hyderabad highway relentlessly for hundreds of miles on a beat-up single-speed Hero Hawk bike. Noticing his enthusiasm and passion for cycling, I felt I had to do something to help him."

"At BAR, we charge Rs 50 for a race; I saved about Rs 5,000-6,000 this year. My friend Nils Eigil Bradtberg had donated us a hybrid bike to help young riders. That may to fetch another Rs 6,000-8,000 when sold. So I thought of getting Manigandan a road bike by pooling together whatever I can manage," Navanasi wrote on Facebook on Wednesday.

Members of the group are organising a cycling race in the city on Sunday to raise funds to buy proper cycling gear for Manigandan. The 75km race from Hoskote to Kolar and back will see more than 40 cyclists participating, including Manigandan. It will begin at 7am.

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